David Cross and Bob Odenkirk are two of the most influential names in comedy today, and have been for quite some time. Ever since their HBO sketch comedy Mr. Show, they have been staples of American alternative comedy, both of them also discovering and promoting other comedy stars along the way. Odenkirk is definitely more famous for playing crooked lawyer Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul than he is for his comedy work at this point, and Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu wisely uses this fact as a lay-up joke, as even in rural Peru, Odenkirk is mobbed for pictures with fans of the two shows, as Cross just stands there awkwardly.
In this hilarious documentary — easily one of the funniest movies I’ve seen this year — the two lifelong friends embark on a trek through the tough 26-mile Inca Trail, winding through the Andes Mountains and ending their journey at Machu Picchu. The easy jokes are how winded the two middle-aged men get, especially in comparison to their trail guide, but the reason to see the film is their riffing, which sometimes gets so specific and elaborate that jokes within jokes will be missed due to audience laughter. It’s essentially a stripped-down version of something like the Trip series with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, but less personally biting and much less melancholic. In fact, the end of their journey involves very touching moments for both comedians individually as well as together.
Also here in St. Louis as part of a stand-up tour, Cross attended the SLIFF screening and gave an equally hilarious interview after the film. In it, he intimated that this film is sort of a sideways pilot for a semi-travelogue series he hopes to continue with his friend. However, he made it very clear that this series would always include something either physically challenging or an extraordinary thing to do, and not merely a kind of foreign-food show. Despite Odenkirk’s health concerns (he had a heart attack while filming Better Call Saul in 2021), he seems to be game for this as well. Those health concerns do put a touch of existentialism on the proceedings here, but Odenkirk seems to have come out of the hike none the worse for wear.
In any case, that existentialism is what makes the film stand out as more than just a buddy road trip (or leg trip, as the case may be). There are a couple of times when they stop on the trail and express gratitude for simply being alive, and I feel like there are vanishingly few times in this day and age when any of us get to do that. In the interview, Cross stressed the importance of doing cool things with beloved friends before time takes away one’s ability to do so, and said he hopes that this film will inspire those kinds of adventures. I actually went to Machu Picchu with a youth group when I was in high school, but we took the train and the easier hike. I know I was lucky to have done so, as it’s on many people’s bucket list. I think I’d be even luckier to go back now with a friend who is as close to me as Bob is to David. | George Napper
Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu was featured at the 2026 St. Louis International Film Festival. Further information about the Festival, which runs Nov. 5-15, is available on the festival website.
